Ignorance
by winchested
Summary: Katherine's parents want to marry her off to an unknown man. She runs off to Vegas to get away. What if she runs into that same unknown man there? AU & AH
1. Prologue

**_Alright so I've shifted away from my regular Delena, I know. I just love these two to death as well. I was really happy with playing Katherine and Elijah as a human and playing Kat's parents too. This is just a prologue- that's why it's this short. I'll probably drag Klaus in too later. But this is a Kelijah story! AU and AH. Enjoy and please review!_**

* * *

><p>"No." Katherine answered simply.<p>

"Excuse me?" Her father snapped back at her.

"There is no way in _hell_ I am letting you two marry me off to some guy I have never even met before." Her tone was calm, yet it was shooting daggers along with her eyes at her parents.

So here's the story. Meet Katherine Pierce. She's the daughter of big businessman Robert Pierce and his trophy wife Charlotte.

"Darling, please." Charlotte stepped in a kinder tone. She was Robert's backup. Always the good cop to his bad one. "At least give the man a chance. He's very charming, I promise." She gave her daughter an encouraging smile.

See, Katherine has caused her parents a lot of trouble over the years. She was the black sheep of the family. The partier. The drinker. The wild, seductive, and dangerous one. The one that no one else crossed because they _knew _they would be done for if they did. It was traditional for her to be staying with her parents at the age of twenty three (almost twenty four). It was what was expected and Katherine expected that much. She rather enjoyed playing her role as that 'innocent' daughter at times.

But this had crossed the line.

"I said, no." She repeated.

"But you don't even know his name!" Her mother protested.

"Nor do I want to know." Katherine retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Look at your cousin Elena," Robert spoke again, trying to use a different tactic. "Her parents married her off to Damon Salvatore and she's very happy now." He was trying to reason with her.

But it wasn't going to work. "I hate Elena. Why would you even bring the goody goody up?" Besides, Katherine had slept with Damon Salvatore many times in the past. Their marriage wasn't going to last. She just knew it.

Robert gritted his teeth, his hands balling into fists. Charlotte rested a hand on his arm before he said anything else.

"All I want you to do, Kat, is to think about it. Or meet him. Please. Just give him a chance."

"A chance. Of course." She rolled her eyes, getting up from the dinner table and walking into her room.

It was time for her to get out of Mystic Falls and go on a little trip.

As much as she could go quietly without letting her parents know where she was going, she decided she would let them know. It would only irritate them further. And she knew that they wouldn't really do anything to stop her.

* * *

><p>"Mister Smith." Robert spoke urgently into the phone.<p>

His laugh was a rhythmic, melodic yet soft one. "Please, I thought we went over this. Call me Elijah." He replied politely.

Elijah's coolheadedness seemed to radiate—even through the phone.

"Yes, of course." Robert agreed with a small smile as if he could see it.

"Is everything alright, sir? You seem a bit worried." It wasn't like he could feel ashamed for letting amusement creep onto his face—Robert couldn't see it.

"Yes, I am, Elijah… You see… My daughter hasn't exactly… Er…"

"Accepted yet." Elijah concluded, understanding.

"Yes." Robert agreed. "But it gets a little more complicated…" He began.

"Complicated? How?" He sat back in his chair, furrowing his brow and listening intently.

"Katherine has gone to Vegas." He explained shortly.

Elijah didn't mean to laugh because her poor father seemed very distressed but he couldn't help it.

"… Are you… Laughing?" Robert asked, shocked.

"I'm sorry, Mister Pierce. That was completely inappropriate of me." He cleared his throat. "What exactly do you propose about this dilemma?"

"Well, the thing is… I was hoping you could travel over there yourself. We know where she is, what she's doing, what hotel she's staying at…" He suggested.

"But won't she know…?" Elijah began.

"Nope. She doesn't even know your name." He told him.

"Wow. That stubborn, I see." Elijah mused.

"That's right… Will you do it? It would be a good way to get to know her… And she might grow to like you as well."

Elijah looked down at the paper on his desk. "You know what, I would love to." He decided.


	2. Chapter 1

**_This chapter was not going to be written tonight because I've got a lot to deal with right now (so I'm not sure when I'm going to update again) but thanks to my beautiful wifey Leighton (daniel-morgan on tumblr) I was able to write this. Please enjoy reading this as much as I loved writing it!_**

* * *

><p>She was a very interesting girl to watch, Elijah found. He felt as if he could just watch her forever. Elijah had never seen her in person before and it almost came as a shock when he found the female from all the pictures he had seen standing so close to him, drinking, dancing, and flirting with other men. He knew he didn't feel any jealousy—which was good and it made sense. He had never even said a word to Katherine, why would he feel possessive towards her already? No. That came after the marriage. It wasn't like Elijah was expecting some romantic, happily ever after type of marriage either. This was more like a business agreement, to be honest. And frankly, having a wife would not only be good publicity, but it would be nice to have dinner to come home to and possibly children in the future.<p>

At first glance, Elijah would have passed her off as your every day spoiled rich brat but the more he observed, he found that she was much more different than his first guess. Although, he couldn't figure out if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Katherine was smart—way too smart. She was calculative and manipulative. Elijah could see that as she skipped from man to man or got drinks from the bartender. He knew that she loved playing this game because she had no trouble with money—she could definitely afford the drinks. He found that the way she moved was rather interesting as well. She was sensual, seductive, yet classy. He had met many women and knew that it was a difficult feat to accomplish—yet she seemed to have it mastered so perfectly.

He watched the way her hips moved as she swayed with the music, noticing her every movement in reaction to the man she was dancing with. He was getting very close but she didn't seem to mind—or even notice. She probably enjoyed it. He watched as his hands roamed shamelessly around her body and her response was pressing closer, that small mischievous smile beginning to tug at her lips. Elijah knew that the man probably couldn't see it, but he could and he knew exactly why she was smiling. This woman… She was something entirely different. Elijah hadn't even met her yet and he knew that she was extraordinary. He hadn't quite decided whether it was a good thing, though.

She was so stunningly beautiful. Elijah knew it from the pictures but seeing her now was something totally different. The pictures were gorgeous but they did her absolutely no justice. Nothing in those pictures had prepared him from what he saw besides knowing what he was seeing. He knew that he would have to make his move eventually. That was why he was here, after all. But for the first time in his life, Elijah was unsure of what to do exactly. How would he approach her? He could definitely adjust to the nightclub setting, but it wasn't his usual crowd. If this was any other woman, he would've done something a long time ago. But he did enjoy watching her—and he had gotten so much about her out of just her actions. Elijah was rather good at reading people and he found that they were very predictable. Katherine, however, was harder to predict. He knew she was playing a game but the rules of the game and what she was playing at were rather unclear at this point. Maybe it would be more clear after he talked to her.

Elijah decided that when he did approach her, he wouldn't tell her who he was. Well, he would tell her who he was—just not that he was the same man her parents wanted to wed her off to. It would be much easier to deal with one thing at a time. Her father had said that she hadn't handled the news very well—hell it was why she was in Vegas in the first place! Keeping quiet about who he really was seemed like a much better idea until she was more okay with him.

Elijah turned on his stool at the bar and ordered a beer. Just as he was about to turn around to look for Katherine (beer in his hand), he found that she was standing right there in front of him. She had a small, seductive smirk on her face and Elijah couldn't help but smirk back at her. "You know, you shouldn't be so obvious about staring." So she had noticed. Elijah decided this wasn't a terrible plan—or well, lack of plan.

"Why not? I got your attention didn't I?" He answered, taking a sip of his drink, the smirk widening as he watched Katherine's eyes rise.

"That you did." She seemed impressed. Apparently, other men tried different ways to get her attention. Elijah wasn't very surprised about that. She sat on the stool beside him, letting a hand 'accidentally' brush his thigh. But she already knew that he knew how much of that was an accident. She gave him a suggestive, knowing look and he returned it with an amused half smile.

"What's your name?" She asked, leaning in.

"Elijah Smith. And you?" Because right now, he wasn't supposed to know who she was.

"Katherine Pierce—pleasure to meet you." She smiled.

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine, Katherine." He took one of her hands and pressed a kiss to it.

"You can call me Kat if you like." She seemed pleased.

"I'd rather call you Katherine—such a beautiful name." Elijah shook his head.

"You know, you're a strange man. I know it may seem strange of _me _to say that since we just met and all. But I don't think I've ever met anyone else like you." She admitted.

"Likewise." Elijah smirked.

"Elijah, you don't seem the type to hang around Vegas—alone anyway." To be honest, he seemed like more of a business man than anything. He was wearing a suit there and with the way that he was acting and his choice of clothing, Katherine could tell that he had a good amount of money like herself.

"I'm just swinging by for a few days… What about you? You don't seem the type that would be alone either." Elijah smirked. "Wait, I did notice you with many different people tonight. I couldn't decide which one of them you're actually with, though."

Ooh, so he wanted to play it like that. Like the two of them civilly insulting each other? She could play that game. She was capable of playing many games. "I'm not with any of them, actually. I came to Vegas with my friend, Isobel." She explained. "Are you sure you're not out of place?"

"I figured you weren't with any of them." Elijah mused before stopping a chuckled at her question. She was definitely a feisty one. She did not like to be put down and would do anything to shove others out of the way. That much was clear. "Don't worry, Katherine, I won't get lost. If you do, however… Feel free to stick with me." He winked.

"I think I'll stick around, but not because I'm lost." Katherine answered, smiling.

"I wouldn't mind if you were." Elijah murmured, sipping his beer and glancing around the club. "Would you like to dance?" He asked her, setting his drink on the bar top before getting up and offering her his hand.

"I thought you would never ask." She grinned, putting her hand in his before the two walked on to the dance floor.

This was it. This was the moment he was waiting for. Now he would experience what those other men had experienced while dancing with Miss Pierce. Elijah was curious and after talking to her, he was a little bit excited. If it was possible, he felt more drawn to her that he did before. The song that was playing was a fast one and all the people around them were moving quickly and were pressed together. There was no doubt this dance would get him addicted.

Her hands wrapped around his neck, her body drawing closer and closer to his until it fit against his. He wrapped his arms around her waist first as they began to move with the dynamic rhythm of the wild music. As the dance went on, one of her hands traveled down to his chest, leaving a sensual trail down. This was ridiculous—he had clothes on and she had this sort of effect on his body? Katherine was way too good at this. He wanted to show her that he knew how to play her game too—whatever that game was. So Elijah let one hand travel up her body while the other one travelled south.

She should be used to a man touching her like this but for some reason, with Elijah it was different. His touch was different. There was something else about him and she couldn't put her finger on it. She moaned—which surprised her greatly. She hoped he hadn't heard it—maybe the music covered it up. Katherine looked at his face again and into his eyes to find all evidence of him hearing her moan. There was a small satisfied smirk on his face and his eyes seemed very amused.

Elijah knew how to treat a woman. He wasn't too surprised when she had moaned—it was expected. He just wanted to show her what he was capable of doing. He wanted to show her what exactly she would be missing. At this point, he was sure that she was expecting them to sleep together tonight. The thing was, Elijah wasn't. He wasn't going to take her until they were married. It wasn't like either of them were virgins or anything but Elijah felt as if marriage should be something different. Of course, she wouldn't know why he was doing this. Not yet anyway.

Things got more heated as they danced—more heated than nearly everyone around them. He could feel himself growing hard for her and he was sure that she was turned on too. The song did end though. And that's when Elijah decided to part.

As soon as he pulled away Katherine looked a little confused (for only a second because she knew she couldn't let her emotions slip).

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Katherine." He said, pressing an urgent kiss to her lips.

"You're leaving?" She murmured into the kiss.

"I have some other things to tend to." He lied. He just needed her to be wanting more.

"When can I see you again?" She asked, breaking away and looking into his eyes with a smirk.

"Whenever you want." Elijah said, putting a card into her hand before walking away.


End file.
